Wild geese

/

Wild Geese

You do not have to be good.
You do not have to walk on your knees
for a hundred miles through the desert repenting.
You only have to let the soft animal of your body
love what it loves.
Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.
Meanwhile the world goes on.
Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain
are moving across the landscapes,
over the prairies and the deep trees,
the mountains and the rivers.
Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,
are heading home again.
Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,
the world offers itself to your imagination,
calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting
over and over announcing your place
in the family of things.

~ From Dream Work by Mary Oliver

Today I'm on the lookout for that announcement, the one letting me know of my "place in the family of things."

photo: stock.xchng

Today's question:

What are you on the lookout for today?

Wisdom and wit

/

While Pinterest, my latest social media obsession, may be the mecca of all things crafty and oh-so-worth cooking, it's also an awesome spot for finding words of insight and inspiration. And you know how I love words...especially in the form of quotes. (And if you didn't know, well, now you do. See? You learn something new every single day here on Grandma's Briefs.)

Here for your reading pleasure are some recently discovered words of wisdom and wit, pinned for future pondering on my Pinterest board titled Food for Thought (attribution given when available):

What if you woke up today with only the things you thanked God for yesterday.

 

It isn't that I'm not a people person, I'm just not a stupid people person.

 

Girls are like apples on trees. The best ones are at the top of the tree. The boys don't want to reach for the good ones because they are afraid of falling and getting hurt. Instead, they just get the rotten apples from the ground that aren't as good, but easy. So the apples at the top think something is wrong with them, when in reality, they're amazing. They just have to wait for the right boy to come along, the one who's brave enough to climb all the way to the top of the tree.

(Mothers of daughters, tell your daughters that one. Often. Mothers of sons, urge your sons to be brave. Always.)

 

You gotta stop wearing your wishbone where your backbone oughta be. ~Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert

 

Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid. ~Albert Einstein

 

When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and could say, "I used everything you gave me." ~Erma Bombeck

 

Success isn't just about what you accomplish in your life, it's about what you inspire others to do.

 

PS: If you tried to join Pinterest and were told you've been added to the waitlist, email me and I'll send you an invitation that should allow you to bypass the wait...no strings attached.

Photo: stock.xchng

Today's question:

Where do you like to go for wisdom and/or wit?

The Saturday Post: Dear Photograph edition

/

Not long ago we discussed profundity for our New Word Wednesday word.

The website Dear Photograph is pure profundity.

In pictures.

"Take a picture of a picture from the past in the present."

Visit it.

Enjoy it.

Maybe even contribute to it.

Photo: Screen shot of Dear Photograph website

Today's question:

If you could go back and take one picture of someplace from the past, where would it be?

Everyday inspiration

/

I'm not a world-traveler who finds inspiration in ancient ruins, artful masterpieces, or in architectural—or natural—wonders.

I'm also not one of the fortunate few privileged to find inspiration in luculent discourse with the likes of Maya Angelou or other great orators of our time. (Although I have heard in person the likes of Kurt Vonnegut. And David Sedaris. More than once.)

No, I don't get my inspiration from such high-brow—and high-cost—pleasures. Yet.

Instead, I find inspiration—the impetus to be bigger, better, and more than I am—in everyday things. Things such as these:

Words. Exacting words, strung together to make profound sentences. Better yet when several such sentences are strung together for impactful, unforgettable paragraphs. It happens. It inspires.

More words. In the form of the right sermon at the right time. The kind of sermon that makes me glad I put down the Sunday paper, got ready and got out the door. Sometimes sermons can make me wish I'd stayed home. Other times—the inspirational times—they fill my body and soul and make me ever-so thankful I have faith.

Even more words. These in the form of comments. From readers, from you. Things like, "So many of your posts make me laugh and tear up." And "I really do enjoy reading your posts to start my day!", "You are the kind of Grandma I wish I would have had when I was a child without any grandparents", "Love that you inspire us with words and pictures... make us think about what is really important...", and so many more. They inspire. You inspire. You make me want to give more, to be more.

Music. Live performances are life-affirming, but they're few and far between anymore. So I'm inspired by the vast variety of recorded options, from this to this. To this, and this, and this, and this. And others. So, so many others. Even more likely, though, I'm inspired when hearing Jim channel Randy Travis. When he thinks I'm not listening. When he thinks I still don't like his favorite country star.

The mountain outside my door. Pikes Peak is my compass, always to my west. Always an anchor. Always proof that I'm home.

My neighbors across the street. Who are attempting to grow a vineyard on their massive lot. Smackdab in the city. Suprisingly, it's working. Surprisingly, that inspires me, encourages me to ignore naysayers who doubt what I can—and will—achieve.

My oldest daughter. Who struggles with finding the right path, trying out this one and that one. She keeps moving, keeps trying, keeps pushing on. Keeps working to create a path uniquely her own. Keeps encouraging others to do the same. Keeps smiling. Keeps believing.

My middle daughter. Who struggles with the balancing act of kids versus career. Choosing one, then the other, then the other. She makes it work. And keeps choosing—what's right for her, what's right for them, what's right for her family, what's right for her well-being. Not all at the same time, but all at the right time.

And my youngest. Who often just plain struggles. Yet when she does, when the struggle becomes too much, too rankling of her soul and her spirit, she leaps—against everyone's words of caution—and she always, always, ends up soaring. And she always ends up inspiring me to do the same.

Most of all, of course, there's Bubby and there is Mac. The two who, innocently and obliviously, inspire me to be bigger, to be better, to be more than I am. The two who have inspired me to be—and helped me become—far more than I was before.

Photo by Alison Baum

This post linked to Grandparents Say It Saturday.

Today's question:

Where do you find everyday inspiration?

Ripple effect

/

One of the questions I regularly ask the Grilled Grandmas is "What do you most want to pass along to your grandchildren?". I'm continually impressed by their thoughtful answers because in considering that question myself, I find it difficult to narrow it down, to sum up in a few words what I want the sons and daughters of my daughters to have and to do and to be.

I want to pass along to my grandchildren so many things, some that I have, some that I don't, some that I wish I had mastered.

I want to pass along the traits of faithfulness and thankfulness. I want them to know they’re loved and worthy and important. I want them to have memories of incredible moments and the motivation to create more. I want to pass along a love for themselves as well as a love for others, regardless of how alike or different others may be. I want to pass along the desire — and the ability — to make the most of the gifts they have been given.

I want to pass along to my grandchildren all that and more. Ultimately, though, what I most want to pass along to my grandchildren is life and all the beauty and blessings and potential wrapped up in that. I want them — my extended family — to be and to continue to be. To continue the family line, the family tree. I cringe at the idea that everything Jim and I put into the family we’ve created could have ended with our most immediate progeny. No, I want our family tree to have strong roots and abundant shoots going forward, and for those roots and shoots to make a difference in the world.

I want the lives of my children, my grandchildren, my great-grandchildren and so on to matter and make a difference in the world, partially to better themselves, to better the world around them. But in all honesty — and in all selfish realization — I also want those things partially so my life will have mattered, to know that I made a difference.

I have no illusions that I’ve shaken the world up in any way. I do believe, though, that through my children and their children and their children, my jiggles and jerks from beginning to end have had and will continue to have a ripple effect. My words, my actions, my love have touched my children, who then have gone out into the world and touched others with their words, actions, love. Then the ripples continue as those touched in turn touch others, matter to others, make a difference to others. My ripples grow larger, wider, eternal. That won’t happen if the family doesn’t continue, if life is not passed down, again and again and again.

Yes, I want to pass along love, independence, fortitude, passion, compassion, sympathy, empathy and more. Those are the things of life, of living. For better or for worse, those are intertwined with pain, heartache, fear, longing, loss — life’s unsavory bits that make what's on the other side of the coin all the more sweet and appreciated and worth every utterance of gratitude and thanks.

So, regardless of reason, justification, or explanation, when I truly consider what I want to pass along to my grandchildren, the bottom line is this: I most want to pass down to them life and the gumption to make their fair share of ripples — possibly even a big splash now and then, too — with that life.

Photo: stock.xchng/biewoef

Today's question:

Whose ripples from the past continue to impact your present?

The Saturday Post: Inspiration from a wee one edition

/

As I noted earlier in the week, Bubby recently got a big-boy bike and is working diligently on mastering the two-wheeler. The youngster in the following video has apparently done exactly that and, considering his success, offers wise words for Bubby and other bike-riding novices. They're also wise words for anyone — young or old — needing a reminder that practice and belief in oneself are all it takes to accomplish great things.

Today's question:

When do you feel most "happy of myself"?